Recruiting Roundup: Highly talented prospects set to visit for BBQ at the Big House

The BBQ at the Big House is one of the most important recruiting events of the summer for the Michigan Wolverines, and we now know of three 2025 prospects who will be there for it.

As reported by EJ Holland ($) with On3’s The Wolverine, here are three players in 2025 set to be in Ann Arbor for the midsummer event:

-Akili Smith Jr., a four-star passer who is the 93rd-best player and the seventh-best quarterback in the class on the 247Sports composite. His father, Akili Smith Sr., played two seasons at Oregon before being drafted third overall in 1999 and playing four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

-Rowan Byrne, an offensive tackle whose not yet rated on the composite but has good size at 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds. The New Rochelle, New York native has been recruited by about a dozen schools, including Penn State, Maryland, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Florida.

-Elijah Dotson, a three-star ranked 351st overall on the composite for his class, and the 32nd player among athletes. Dotson is a local kid, as he plays high school at University of Detroit Jesuit High School, a 45-minute drive from U-M’s campus.

Holland also reported that 2025 four-star cornerback commit Chris Ewald is also expected at the event. It wouldn’t be a stunner to also see Michigan’s second commit in the class, four-star linebacker Mantrez Walker.

2025 Georgia RB puts U-M on top list

2025 three-star running back Justin Baker, who visited Michigan back on June 2, recently included Michigan in his top six. Baker is rated just outside the top-300 on the 247Sports composite, and is ranked 32nd among running backs and 35th among recruits from Georgia.

In an interview with On3’s Jeremy Johnson, the Buford native laid out his top six schools. Michigan was the only Big Ten school on his list, as it joined Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, NC State and Ole Miss.

“Their winning culture is second to none, including winning on and off the field,” Baker said about Michigan. “They believe in running the ball and it shows in the product they put out.”

Baker hasn’t laid out a timetable for when he’ll make his decision, but if he came to Michigan, he’d be the first 2025 running back the Wolverines land. Michigan will likely be facing Georgia head-to-head in this recruiting battle. Landing a recruit from Georgia to help beat the Bulldogs would make that potential victory in the CFP even sweeter.

Hoops transfer target commits to Washington

Paul Mulcahy, a former Rutgers guard Michigan reached out to when he entered the portal, committed to Washington earlier this week.

Mulcahy is one of dozens of transfer targets Juwan Howard and the Wolverines have lost out on this offseason. They have picked up three talented players in the portal (Olivier Nkamhoua from Tennessee, Tray Jackson from Seton Hall, and Nimari Burnett from Alabama), but still have two scholarships available for the 2023-24 season.

The team is now practicing on campus, and 95 percent of transfers are at their new schools. There’s a few guys in the portal the Wolverines could still go after — and the international route is always an option — but at this point in the summer, they may just have to plan on the roster they currently have, aside from a last-minute addition or two.